Lupus
by I'm Miss World
Summary: Aggression; a common behavior when finding a mate. Possession; a common desire when claiming a mate. Imprinting... well this one's a little new to Jacob Black. But he'll experience them all when he imprints on a taken she-wolf. JacobOC Rating will change
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Twilight saga

**A/N:** I am definitely still writing _Polaris_, so don't worry. Working on the next chapter right now. But here is a story I was inspired to write while reading one of the best fics I've ever read on this website, let alone in this fandom, called _The Ascent_ by Stoney G. Pumpkin. If you have not read this story, I STRONGLY recommend it. So this story is dedicated to Stoney G. Pumpkin. Anyway, here goes nothing.

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**Lupus **

**Prologue**

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'_I need to rest.'_

'_No Bri, we're close.'_

'_I'm so tired though.'_ A whimper accompanied this proclamation.

'_Too bad, keep going.'_ Though it came from the Alpha, it wasn't a direct demand, and the sleep deprived, blonde she-wolf stopped near the trunk of a thick elm. The slight wolf, well, slighter than the males that accompanied her, leaned her body against the rough bark for a minute, letting out another pathetic whine. _'Move Cambria, now.'_

The Alpha command made her reluctantly push her body away from the tree and pad sluggishly over to the rest of her pack, while her mate sent a growl towards their Alpha._ 'She needs a break,_' he protested in her defense.

'_She will keep going and you will keep quiet about it.'_ Another Alpha command shut her mate up and the pack of five trudged on in theoretical silence, though grumbled thoughts and curses could be identified coming from her mate through their telepathic connection, only being silenced by a warning snarl from the Alpha.

Sleep seemed like a foreign concept to them all, as they'd been running for weeks now. Delicious cooked food was a mere memory, raw fish and large rodents having been their only nourishment since they'd left the sunny shore of California.

After continuing for another half hour, one of the males, a large gray, growled in frustration. _'All I smell is leech. Sickening, sweet leech and it's hurting my sinuses. Where the hell is this res Max?'_

The Alpha halted after being addressed, all following suit. Cambria took this brief moment of relaxation to collapse onto the mossy ground, panting with thirst. _'Xander…'_ she whined, her mate pulled to attention immediately at her small plea for comfort. His deep brown fur was nearly as long as hers, the two making a shaggy pair, the pigment of their hair contrasting as he lay beside her, licking at her muzzle. They were all exhausted, hungry and dirty, but the trip had taken a toll on her more than anyone else and Xander felt he was the only one who acknowledged it.

Max grunted, standing still as a statue and listening around him, sniffing the air as the wind blew different scents his way. His stark black fur was sleek and shone blue in the sunlight that cascaded through the thin tree branches in the clearing where they stood, giving the illusion of rippling waves as the summer breeze blew through the thick coat.

As Alpha, he knew he must come through for his pack, no matter how small it was. He had heard there were truths in the tales of the Quileute Natives and he had been willing to lead his pack all the way here; he would find them, damn it!

'_Can you pick up a scent Sloan?'_ Max spoke only to the fifth, and until now, nearly silent member of the pack, his coat a smooth brown, bleached red from the sun. Max knew the passive male had a keener sense of smell than any of his pack, even himself.

The wolf sniffed the air, turning his body every which way in order to catch wind in every direction, however he shook his head. _'It's too faint, but it's there. The vampire smell is too strong to tell which direction it is coming from though. I smell food. I think there might be civilization not far off.'_

They all listened and could hear the faint sound of light traffic and human life perhaps a couple of miles away. _'We will head north, towards the sound. I'll decide what we'll do from there.'_ Max was weighing his options, and the entire pack was aware, so he need not specify that he would either send one of them into the town to find out where the Quileute reservation was from there, or he would opt for continuing to search on their own. They couldn't be far; he knew it.

'_This is fucking ridiculous,'_ the gray hissed, showing his irritation, and also his bad temper, by slicing the sharp claws of his front paw through a bush, making it look as though it were a victim of half-assed landscapers. _'How do we even know they're like us? How do we know they'll accept us?'_

It was true packs were close knit and weary of outsiders, but it was a chance Max was willing to take. There weren't many options on the table at this point. _'Logan, calm yourself you fool,'_ Sloan intervened, earning himself an irritable snarl and snap of the jaws from the silver beast before him.

'_Let's go. We're not far from the traffic.' _Max ignored the two and their squabble, knowing it wouldn't escalate to much. Logan was brash and easily annoyed, but loyal no less. A strict order would set him straight immediately, this he was sure of.

'_I can't,'_ Cambria whined, her heavy lids nearly covering her shocking green eyes. _'I can't get up.'_ Her voice was so weak it pained Max to force further movement upon her, but he had no desire to be in close proximity with the vampires who left this scent behind, and couldn't risk the safety of his pack by staying any longer. None of them were in any kind of condition to pull a bloodsucker limb from limb, though Max was sure both Logan and Xander would die trying.

Her dead legs tried to push her weight from the moist ground, but it was useless, her body collapsing back onto the forest floor. _'Let her rest,'_ Xander protested, and Max became annoyed.

'_All right, we will stay. We will stay and rest and wait for those leeches we can smell all around us to catch our scent and tear us apart with their fangs for being in their territory. Surely they'll save the weakest for last; make it long and exceedingly painful.'_ Max knew his words were harsh, but how else could he make his point? He wasn't trying to make poor Cambria force her tired muscles to move, but it was the right decision.

Max's black eyes locked with Xander's hazel toned ones, the two set in a staring contest before Xander sighed and looked away, down at the small wolf beside him. He nudged her face with his nose, assuring she was awake and listening to him. _'Bri, phase and get on my back.' _

'_No… no it's not fair. You're all tired,'_ she protested weakly. She didn't like to be the rusty old link in their chain, ready to break at any minute. She always tried to be strong, but they all saw right through her, at this moment especially.

Yes, it was true, Xander's muscles ached and he wished for nothing more than a steaming shower, a hot meal and a comfortable bed, but he wouldn't see her suffer anymore._ 'Shut up and do it,' _he growled, all his aggravation coming out, though he never wanted to take it out on her.

Cambria gave no more protest, though her eyes watered as she transformed into her human skin. Untying her clothes and a cheap pair of flip flops from her leg, she quickly dressed, noticing how all but her mate had the decency to avert their eyes as she clothed herself, still sitting on the ground.

Once she was decent, Xander approached her and crouched on his stomach, her slim fingers tangling into the fur at the scruff of his neck and her legs somehow finding the strength to push herself onto the back of her lover.

She held on tight as he rose to all fours, following behind Logan as they made their way towards what could only be a small town. She couldn't help but feel as though they all hated her right now, all resented her, though it wasn't apparent in their thoughts.

It was, after all, completely her fault they had to leave their home in the first place.


	2. Chapter I

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

**A/N:** Thanks to those who reviewed! I'm going to keep this story pretty in sync with the books, minus the Nessie imprinting obviously, even though I'm not fond of the entire idea of her of Breaking Dawn in general for that matter. I put up pictures of my pack of OC's in my profile.

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Lupus**

**Chapter I**

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Jacob Black sighed as he watched the slow ticking wall clock that sat high on the wall behind the counter of the mini mart he worked at. Only five more minutes before he could clock out. The place was almost abandoned aside from his manager, Marvin, an acne faced community college student with greasy brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses, and old Mrs. Howard, trying to decide which cereal she wanted, even though she'd been standing in front of their selection for almost ten minutes now.

And he was getting very irritated with the vibration of the modest cell phone in his pocket. It was a girl from school named Sonia, who was just one of the many 'friends' Jake had made after realizing he would never have Bella Swan for his own. Though he had accepted her marriage to Edward, her half human, half vampire child, and hell, even _liked_ Edward to a point now, he was still slightly bitter and extremely hollow when it came to the subject of romance. Something Sonia obviously didn't realize as she sent text after text.

He didn't know how to let her down easy. A few nights of fun was enough, and she just wasn't getting that he was not interested in anything further, though he was sure he'd made that pretty clear from the beginning. So he just ignored the vibration after checking the screen and being sure it was indeed from her, then shoving it back in his pocket.

Finally, Mrs. Howard approached him at the counter, and he began scanning her items as she presented a handful of coupons. Being a good citizen, Jacob helped Mrs. Howard load her groceries into her beat up brown Toyota that looked as though it didn't even run anymore, and she gave him fifty cents for his troubles, which made Jacob chuckle, before he told her to have a nice day and went back into the store, untying his smock as he glanced up at the clock to realize his shift was over.

He had been so eager to get out of here and go for a long run all day, but when he stepped out of the back room after punching out and collecting his bike helmet, he was suddenly distracted.

The first thing that caught his attention were the long, lean, tan legs that were only covered at the top by a pair of cut offs that would rival Daisy Duke's. After studying the two muscled limbs for longer than he probably should have, he let his eyes trail up to her round backside and the little sliver of skin that was showing between the waistband of her shorts and the faded, red flannel shirt she had tied in the front to show her belly button.

Her long blonde hair cascaded in messy tendrils down to the delicious curve at the small of her back. The sight of this new, unfamiliar and exceedingly tempting body made Jake twitch in his pants slightly. She was leaned over the counter, back to him, talking to Marvin, who was visibly flustered, and Jake couldn't really blame the guy. He wouldn't be shocked if _he_ were a virgin, even at the age of twenty-two. And this chick definitely wasn't your average, run of the mill looking girl.

Aside from having the extreme desire to get a look at the face that belonged to this gorgeous body, Jake also figured he'd better go over there and save poor, stuttering Marvin from his own embarrassment and intervene in whatever conversation they were having, especially when the girl let out a small sigh of frustration. She wasn't buying anything; there were no items on the counter. Maybe she was looking for directions or something.

"Hey, Marvin, I think the delivery truck just pulled in," Jake noticed, his awkward overseer looking relieved as he gave the native boy a nod and rushed outside to the parking lot. "What can I help you… with…"

Jacob's words became jumbled in his mind. He had no idea what he had even just asked her. Her impossibly full lips were parted in forgotten speech and her large green eyes looked stunned. She was just as gorgeous facially as her delectable body was. From this angle, Jake could see the swell of her generously full breasts under the button up, even catching sight of the top of her cleavage where the first three buttons were unfastened. He let his eyes go back to her face though, noticing how incredibly exhausted she looked, but she was lovely no less.

He had a ridiculous urge to reach out and stroke her cheek, which he immediately pushed away, squeezing his eyes shut for a minute then shaking his head. _'Get a hold of yourself idiot,'_ he mentally cursed.

"Uh… wow… sorry. What is it you needed?" He felt like a moron stumbling over his words like that. It was stupid really. He'd been around plenty of very sexy girls before. Hell, he saw Rosalie, Esme and Alice all the time, and they were all gorgeous because they were vampires. Of course, the smell didn't really aid in the attraction department. Not even Bella had intoxicated him like this though. And he thought she was gorgeous even before she was a vampire.

The girl across from him seemed to be just as distracted as he was though, giving Jake slight relief as she averted her eyes to the counter top, brushing some unmanaged looking hair behind her ear in a nervous way. He fought the urge to untangle the blonde strands and instead took in how incredibly disheveled she actually was.

Instead of being silky and smooth the way Jake imagined her hair would look tended to, it was tangled, probably only finger-brushed, and he was certain he saw streaks of mud at the ends as she pushed some over her shoulder. The bags under her eyes made her look a little older than she clearly was and there was something in her eyes he couldn't quite place. Hurt? Fear? Something unpleasant of the sort.

"I uh… I need directions to the Quileute Reservation from here." The sound of her voice made Jake's insides tighten and his breath catch. It was soft and rough at the same time, giving Jake a tingling feeling that shot from his fingertips all the way up his arms. But he composed himself once he realized what she'd asked.

She certainly was not Quileute; he could tell just by looking at her. In fact, the only thing that may have been able to pass as native was her tanned skin, but it was clear to him that the color was sun inflicted, not natural like his own and not quite as dark either. What business did she have there?

Her distressed state made him doubt it was because she wanted to go cliff diving, or rock climbing… or any of the other sort of outdoor activities that were popular on the res to the people who didn't live there. "This is Forks, right?"

Jake cleared his throat at her second question, pushing the same feeling he'd had the first time she'd spoken down quicker this time. His brow creased and he wondered what business she had there, secretly hoping it wasn't too meet up with Embry, who'd become somewhat of a whore recently, much more so than Jake. But Embry didn't usually bring his girls to the res unless they lived there already.

"Yeah this is Forks. Um, the res is in La Push. About fifteen miles west." That was when he noticed it. It was something strange. He didn't want to look weird, so he tried discretely to sniff the air without her noticing. And then he was sure of it. There was something not entirely human about this girl's scent.

"Fifteen miles?" she sighed, not looking pleased with the information.

"About a half hour drive." Now that she knew where La Push was, Jake knew he had to keep his eye on her once she got there. He was going to go right home and tell Sam about his discovery. Though Jake was still Alpha of his own pack, he and Sam had come to work together, in doing patrols and leading their respective packs. They all needed to be on alert because there was something going on, though Jake had no idea what it was. He could sure use Edward Cullen's skills right about now.

Jacob was annoyed as he tried to catch her scent again, finding a familiarity to it, but not making any specific connections. This frustrated him greatly. But in his frustration, an idea on how he could keep tabs on her did pop into his mind. "I could show you if you want. I live there. I just clocked out and was on my way home anyway."

Her teeth sunk into hr lower lip and her eyes shifted a little nervously. Now he was _really_ suspicious. "No, no that's fine."

"Really, it's not a problem." He cursed mentally, wishing she'd just go along with it so he could find out what it was she was going to be doing there, and at the very least keep watch of her.

"No. I need to go." She spun and rushed over to the door, looking over her shoulder briefly as she pushed it open. "But thank you!"

And then she was gone. And Jacob was hit with a slightly empty feeling deep in his chest. But more overpowering than that were his Alpha instincts and the need he felt to protect his people. Just in time too as the woman who switched shifts with him arrived.

"Hi to you too Jacob!" she grouched as he bypassed her and ran out the door, getting onto his bike at lightning speed and driving dangerously fast towards La Push. He had to beat her there.

Instead of running to her car, as Jacob foolishly assumed she had done, the lovely blonde staggered into the trees behind the neighboring bank, finding a massive dark brown wolf sitting just out of sight from anyone who didn't pass through the tree line.

"We're about a half hour east of the reservation," she confirmed to him knowing this information would be relayed to the rest of her pack through their connection.

Cambria sighed and began combing her hair with her fingers. She should phase now and she knew it. But she was afraid her thoughts would be riddled with that guy in the market. The last thing she wanted to do was make Xander jealous, but that's exactly what would happen if she phased now.

He had been gorgeous, and as soon as she'd seen him she felt self conscious, knowing she was certainly not in her most attractive state. She saw her untidy appearance had shocked him too. And, oh, how she wanted so badly to take him up on his offer to follow him to La Push, maybe even ride on the back of that bike he'd driven off on. He was beautiful, with distinctly native features, sleek black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and muscles that rippled with every slight move he made. His russet skin and chocolate eyes were scathed into her memory and she sighed at the thought before taking her clothing off and tying it to her leg.

She could still think about him in other ways when she phased and hopefully that would distract her from the little sparks of lust that were flashing through her mind. There was something distinct about him that they absolutely needed to know.

She phased, feeling a little burst of energy, though that didn't say a whole lot. They'd sent her in to town because they felt she was the least threatening looking of them all and they didn't want to attract any unneeded attention.

'_Who is he?_' Xander's jealousy already flared. He was very possessive, though he had yet to stake claim on Cambria the way wolves did. She wouldn't allow it, not after everything she had been through recently, and he was giving her the time she needed to cope with the ordeal. But he hoped she would allow him to mark her soon.

'_I spoke to him in the store. He told me the directions. He's one of them. He smelled of wolf. Not like us though. But I believe he might be a shifter.'_ This information was relayed to everyone as Xander led her to a clearing where Sloan, Max and Logan were all sitting, waiting for them. _'He may be suspicious. I think he was trying to smell me.'_

Xander growled, but it was silenced with a warning look from Max. _'You will not create a problem Xander,' _he demanded, knowing how territorial he could be. Max would not have everything ruined by Xander's disability to control himself though.

Cambria distracted herself with thoughts of nothingness, thinking about how much she craved a nice, rare steak, making Logan's stomach growl.

"_Damn it Bri,'_ he cursed. She whimpered in apology and instead began thinking about showering, something that wouldn't trigger such a seemingly unattainable longing. It was a lot easier to be dirty than to be hungry. _'Can we get a move on?' _the gruff gray wolf demanded.

Max nodded his head in approval. _'We'll head fifteen miles west and pray that we are successful. We may be in trouble if this man is indeed a shifter and is suspicious of us already.'_


	3. Chapter II

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed. A little insight into the reason our misfit pack is on the run in this chapter. Leave some love after reading please!

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Lupus**

**Chapter II**

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Jacob rushed into the home of Sam Uley without knocking, startling his fiancé Emily, who was busy cooking a big load of something that smelled delicious. His dark eyes were intense, but softened as Emily put the wooden spoon she'd been using to stir to her heart, letting out a sigh. "Jeeze Jake, you scared me half to death!"

"Sorry Emily. Where's Sam? It's impor—" That's when the sickeningly, sweet smell Jake was all too used to caught his attention. The cover of food and his urgency had caused him to ignore the smell that wasn't often detectable on this side of the line. It was only in dire cases that any of the Cullens came to La Push and Jacob stepped through the archway and into the living room where Sam was, flanked by Paul and Jared, Edward and Alice Cullen standing across from them.

"What's going on?" Jake asked hesitantly, suddenly very nervous as to why they were here, looking extremely serious and concerned, not a normal expression for the female of the pair.

"Edward came to inform us that while he and Alice were out hunting on their side, they picked up an overwhelming scent of shifters," Sam informed, expression thoughtful and arms crossed over his broad chest.

"And it wasn't any of us either. It was unfamiliar," Jared chimed in.

"And went close to town," Edward added, making Paul curse angrily. "We came to find out if you knew anything about it, though I suspected not since I'd expect to hear from you," he finished, looking at Jacob who shrugged.

"I haven't…" Jacob started to say, but then stopped, suddenly realizing something. He had been a fucking fool. "That girl!" he hissed, everyone in the room staring at him for answers, all except Edward.

The bronze haired vampire stared at his newly acquired friend, listening to the realizations running through his mind. "You're right Jacob. Don't be so hard on yourself. It _is_ a different scent. To us you all smell like dog though; just different breeds. That's why we were able to identify it." Jake might have chuckled if he weren't going insane in his mind right about now.

"One of them came into work today. That's why I was coming here. I didn't realize she was a wolf. But I knew she didn't smell human. _Fuck_." Jake closed his eyes and sighed, angry at himself. "I told her how to get here. She was looking for the reservation and I told her where it was." He didn't want to admit he had been so foolish, distracted by his libido when, as rightful Alpha , he should have been protecting his tribe as the number one priority. Teenage hormones sucked.

"Goddamnit Jake," Paul growled, running his hands through his short hair.

Alice's musical voice spoke then for the first time. "We're being hasty, assuming they're a threat. They could just be passing through."

"_They?_ How many are there?" Jake demanded, shocked at this revelation. What had he _done_? For all he knew, he had practically invited some rogue wolf pack to La Push; who knows the damage they could do!

"We caught five different scents. We even found some tracks," Edward informed.

"Jacob, alert your pack and we'll start patrol. I want to cover every inch of our boundary. We need to find these wolves and be sure they're not a threat." Sam reasoned, to which Jacob nodded in agreement. "Edward, Alice, would it be too much trouble for you to bring Jake and I to the scent so we know what we're looking for?"

"I'll be able to pick up the scent if I find it," Jake assured, remembering exactly how the young woman in the store had smelt earlier. No wonder she was so disheveled! She had been running through the woods and phased back to her human form to ask for directions!

Her smell had been delicious though and there was no way on earth he would forget it. Jake was practically intoxicated with the sight and scent of her, even though she undoubtedly wasn't at her best. But he was a protector first, above all things.

"I'll start on the north end. I'll send Leah and Embry west and Quil and Seth south." Sam nodded in approval at Jacob's plan.

"Brady will head west with Leah and I will send Collin south. We will go east with the Cullens to pick up the scent and I will head north to meet you." He turned to Jared and Paul. "You will continue to patrol the east border."

"Report _anything_ out of the ordinary." Jacob didn't want one of them getting confused with the scent the way he had. Granted he had realized there was something a little off, but he should've taken ii much more seriously than he had.

He would be kicking his own ass for this for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, the misfit members of the stray pack were all in wolf form, close to the reservation; very close. They rest north of the civilization in the shelter of the thick woods, close to a fresh water river, which they had all greedily drunk from.

Though still exhausted, Cambria felt a little better, anxiety giving her a kick of adrenaline. There were definitely wolves nearby here. Their smell was thick on the land and in the air. Though it was slightly different form the scents she was used to. All these wolves had a somewhat similar smell while she and her pack all had the same core smell with other scents overlapping it. She wasn't sure why this was, but it wasn't her major concern now. Her major concern was finding this pack before this pack found them.

Wolves were very territorial by nature, and that was no different in shifters.

All she was looking for was acceptance here and she prayed she got it.

'_We need to consider how to locate this pack and approach them,'_ Max was saying. They had been brainstorming since they'd made their way to La Push, but still weren't sure exactly how they could locate these other wolves without coming off as threatening.

'_Yeah, that's what we're doing,'_ Logan shot back irritably. Cambria sighed, standing on all fours from her previous position on her belly and stretched.

'_I'm going to phase and wash the mud out of my hair.'_ She didn't wait for permission as she phased and dressed herself quickly, heading over to the water that lay a short distance away from where the rest of the pack stayed, though she knew Xander would be on alert, listening to every move she made with his heightened senses.

She had been having the hardest time getting that guy out of her mind. She thought about anything she could to distract her desires, earning a lot of weird looks from the rest of the pack as they listened in on her overly random thinking. Kneeling at the water's edge, Cambria bent over the water, submerging her whole head for a minute before pulling back slightly, so only her hair was being washed by the flowing water.

She ran her fingers through the locks, trying to untangle the strands and pick the leaves and mud from it. It wasn't a shower, but it was as close as she'd get for now.

Unfortunately, it left her completely distracted as she watched the blonde strands filter the clear water.

Cambria jumped up and turned as she heard the feral growl behind her. But it seemed as though as soon as she made eye contact with the massive russet wolf before her, the intimidating action was cut short.

They both stood in an unblinking eye lock.

Cambria could hear her pulse thundering in her ears and felt like she could stand there forever staring at the creature before her, but it was all cut short as a familiar brown wolf leapt between the two, facing the russet one and growling with bared teeth before aggressively snapping it's jaws. Xander was not about to let this mutt hurt what was his even though he was well aware that this was one of the wolves they had been looking for.

It only took a minute for the rest of the pack to surround the russet wolf, and though he outsized all of them, he wouldn't stand a chance against four male shifters.

Cambria thought quickly and jumped between her pack and the strange wolf, knowing this might be their only shot at safety and not willing to let these brash, aggressive males ruin it. She faced the local and put her hands up in a surrendering gesture. "We've been looking for your pack. We're here in peace," she spoke loudly, trying desperately to avoid any fights.

The russet wolf's ears twitched as she spoke, indicating he heard, however his eyes stayed focused on the other males. Sloan was the first to relax his stance, sitting calmly, Max following suit. Cambria could only assume Max had ordered both Xander and Logan to do the same since seconds before taking the submissive position they had both been ready to attack, teeth bared.

It was then that three more wolves came from the brush, taking position beside the russet. "Please just… let us explain ourselves. Can we all phase and talk, please? We've come so far to find you," the only female begged.

The massive russet finally looked back at her, dark eyes studying her green orbs for any sign of deceit. Finding none, he nodded his head once and walked into the brush once again, the other three staying put until out emerged the phased wolf.

Cambria's breath caught in her throat at the familiar sight of the guy from the store. She couldn't help but be slightly excited at his obvious Alpha status, due clearly to his size and leading initiative. He stood before her, all tight muscle and skin that rivaled the color of his fur. His black hair hung to his shoulders loosely, having been pulled back in the store when she'd seen him before. His dark eyes were penetrating, full or seriousness as he stared back at her, clad only in the cut off sweats he'd had tied to his leg. She stood unmoving, not sure what to do or say.

She didn't even notice one of the other wolves with him, the second largest, go into the brush and come out phased and clothed as he had.

"Who is Alpha in this pack?" the newcomer asked, though it was said in a demanding voice. Max barked confidently before hiding himself behind a bush, phasing, and dressing in the jean cut offs he had tied to his leg.

He came forward, and slowly but surely, every wolf in both packs phased to human form, only going one at a time in case someone from the rival pack decided to attack. "What business do you have here?" It was the gorgeous one from the store that spoke, and Cambria tried desperately not to look at him, though she felt his eyes on her, and apparently Xander noticed as well, coming to shield her from the larger man's view.

"My name is Max. This is my second, Xander. And these are Logan, Sloan and Cambria. We've been exiled from our own pack and chased off our land. Danger came to one of us in a brutal way and due to our opinions on the matter we had no option but to run." Max resisted the urge to glance at Cambria as he spoke, knowing the discomfort and unease speaking of the past situation caused her. "We had nowhere to go, and didn't know what else to do. I had heard that the Quileute legends weren't quite false from my grandfather though, and we thought our best option in getting any sort of assistance would be to find you, brothers."

Jacob glanced over at Sam, trying desperately to focus on the situation at hand and not the girl being protectively blocked from his sight by Xander. Paul stood to his left, Jared to Sam's right. They had been the first to arrive after Jacob alerted his pack and Sam of his discovery at the river. Surely the rest of both packs would be here shortly.

Sam gave a small nod to Jacob and he refocused his dark eyes back to the strangers that seemed genuine in their pleas. Honestly was reflecting in the Alpha, Max's, eyes, and this nod signified Sam felt the same way Jake did. However, they would not let their guard completely down.

"My name is Sam Uley. And this is Jacob Black. We are both Alphas of two different packs that protect the Quileute people. These are Jared and Paul, two of my underlings," Sam spoke, gesturing to each of the large native young men. "What exactly is this danger that you've fled from?"

Cambria became uncomfortable at the subject, and Xander soothingly wrapped an arm around her, causing Jacob to clench his fists and swallow a low growl that bubbled in the back of his throat.

Max cleared his throat, not exactly enthusiastic about speaking on this subject himself. "Cambria was… _taken_ against her will by our former Alpha. It caused a separation in opinions; most believing it was his right and labeling us rebels. We were all attacked one night and fled, being chased to the border of California. Though it seemed they didn't follow us further, we went town to Florida to throw them off just in case, then made our way up the east coast and to Canada before landing here."

"Damn," Jared muttered, mentally calculating the distance they must have traveled. Jacob was also impressed and shocked, though he said nothing and kept his stone expression. His whole body had tensed at the information of why they had been chased out though. Their former Alpha had raped Cambria. That's exactly what had happened. And this bothered Jacob immensely.

"As fellow shifters, we hoped you'd take us in for a time, just until we collect ourselves a little more. We weren't able to leave with much money and only have the clothes on our backs." Max was proud, but he would beg for his pack if he had to. These shifters had to take pity on them; they just _had_ to. "In exchange for accommodations, we will gladly take over patrols and any other odd jobs you require assistance with. Your packs will become ours. We will be loyal for as long as we are on your land. You have my word."

A man's word is all he has.


	4. Chapter III

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

**A/N:** Thanks to those who reviewed! Keep them coming. A lot of you are alerting and not reviewing. Tisk, tisk. Anyway, here's chapter three! A bit of a surprise in the end!

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Lupus**

**Chapter III**

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Conversation between the three Alphas continued, the two natives trying to decide whether they could trust the strangers enough to bring them to the reservation. Things were looking up, judging by the conversation. It was only a short while before three more wolves entered the circle. Jacob looked over at Embry as he approached in wolf form with Seth and Collin. "Tell Leah to just meet us at Sam's. The situation is under control," he ordered.

Embry looked questionably over to the strays but nodded no less. He and the other two copied their Alphas and phased into human form, dressing, then rejoining the group.

"What's going on?" Embry questioned, completely lost on the situation since all present had phased out before knowing the story the strays had to tell. Jake noticed his friend's promiscuous eyes focus on Cambria's nice, toned body, and saw his peaked interest as his eyebrows rose.

Jake wanted to attack him.

But only for a minute as he stuffed that ridiculous notion into the back of his mind. Xander was obviously protective over her for a reason; she was either his sister or his mate most likely. And their drastic difference in appearance made him lean towards the latter. Though this thought did bother him, he also considered the fact that this girl had been sexually abused recently, and probably wouldn't take too kindly to another wolf trying to win over her affections, even though Jake wanted badly to try. No, it would all be more trouble than it was worth.

Then suddenly it hit him. Ever since he first set eyes on this chick, he hadn't thought about Bella Swan. Not once. Her existence hadn't even crossed his mind! Even when Edward and Alice had showed up in La Push, he hadn't even thought about how disappointed he was that Bella hadn't come with them, which is what he normally would've done.

This realization left Jacob completely lost and slightly scared. What was going on?

"Jake?" Tearing his eyes away from Cambria, Jake looked over at Sam who'd been the one to try grabbing his attention.

"Sorry," Jacob apologized, breaking out of his stupor. "What did you say?"

Sam gave him a questioning look before repeating himself. "I suggested allowing them to stay in that old cottage off the reservation. It has a well, so the water should run, maybe not clear at first. And there may be some squirrels or something living in there, but it's shelter."

Jake ran the suggestion over in his mind. This could be dangerous, it was true. But what motivation would these haggard and desperate looking people really have to bring any harm to the Quileute people? He believed their story, especially when he looked into a specific pair of deep green orbs. He could see all the pain and fear in Cambria's hypnotizing eyes. "As long as you cover patrols, I really don't see a problem with it." He cleared his throat. "But we'll be paying close attention to you."

Jake's heart clenched as tears started to roll down Cambria's cheeks and she collapsed against Xander, who hushed her, smoothing his hand over her back soothingly. She couldn't contain the wetness that leaked from her eyes. She was just so happy to finally get some rest, no matter how brief it may be.

"Come to my home and eat something. You all must be starved," Sam kindly offered.

"Mmm, yeah and Emily is the best cook ever," Seth added, rubbing his growling stomach.

Cambria laughed through her sniffles, wiping the tears from her face and pulling away form Xander. "Thank you guys so much. You have no idea how hard this has all been. And it's mostly my fault they're homeless."

"You know none of us feel that way Bri," Sloan spoke up for the first time. The girl just nodded, not willing to argue the situation.

"We are in your debt brothers," Max assured the members of the two packs, offering his hand to first Sam, then Jacob. Sam led the way in human form back to the reservation, Max following behind, explaining how he came to know about the Quileute legend.

"My mother was part Quileute, part Chippewa. She was very in touch with the roots of both of her heritages and passed on the stories of your people to me. She'd told me her great grandmother had loved one of these great protectors when she was a teenager. And that was the whim I went on. We had very few options after we were attacked," Max explained.

"How many attacked you? How big was your pack?" Paul asked intrigued.

"We were seventeen strong; two females, the rest male. Another fought with us against the opposing eleven… or so we thought. He betrayed us at the last minute." Max's face became stone cold and his eyes focused straight ahead, glaring daggers at nearing trees as if they embodied the traitor within.

"It sounds like you've had many hardships," Sam noted.

Max nodded in confirmation. "I don't worry about myself as much as I worry for the others. It became my job to protect and lead them when I broke away form my former Alpha after the incident. Especially Cambria. She is very fragile now." Sam nodded, understanding this was probably very true after the ordeal she had been through.

Xander trailed behind with Cambria, Sloan in front of them and the other Alpha, Jacob, behind them. As beta of their pack, he wanted to be involved in whatever arrangements Max was making up there, but he couldn't very well do that from where they were. "Will you be all right if I go up there?" he questioned, knowing Cambria would want to keep her own pace in the back.

"Yeah. Sloan's right here. I'll be fine," she assured him. The truth was, she was irritated with Xander's constant doting. All of a sudden he was suffocating her and she didn't know why she suddenly felt this way; weeks before she couldn't stand to be away from him, constantly clinging to his arm.

"Call if you need me," he instructed before removing his hand from the small of her back and leaving a kiss on her forehead. It only took a minute for Jacob to step up his stride and keep pace with the girl.

"So, did you know I was a wolf when you came into my store?" He couldn't help but ask. He wondered if it was as confusing for her as it had been for him. And he also couldn't help but inhale her scent again greedily, loving the wild aroma she held, mixed with the salt of the sea. She even smelled like the sun.

She hid a small smile behind her hand and nodded. The deep rumble of Jacob's voice had sent a delightful tremor through her spine. "I did. Well, I thought so anyway. I mean, I saw you trying to smell me," she giggled slightly. Jake almost stopped walking when he heard her musical laughter. It was absolutely something he needed to hear again he decided at that moment.

"Sure, sure," he chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I knew you smelled off. I just couldn't put my finger on it then and there."

A collection of modest yet comfortable looking houses came into view once the mixed packs exited the tree line, since they hadn't been all that deeply in. Sam spoke up, loud enough for everyone in tow to hear. "Jacob and I will have to speak with the tribe elders about your presence here. But I believe once we explain the situation in full, it won't be a problem," he assured.

They continued on to Sam's house, where the scent of mouth-watering food filled everyone's nostrils, making the younger boys whoop in excitement and jog towards the house, barging in rambunctiously.

Emily emerged, stirring something in a massive bowl, Sam coming over to leave a kiss on her scarred cheek. The new pack would have been shocked if they had not seen this before. Where they were from, there were two mates of shifters in their former pack that had similar scars from an outrage overload during an early time in their transformation. It was clear to all of them what had happened.

"Sam, what's going on?" she whispered, though most heard.

"It's a long story. But we are going to be having some guests for a while." Emily asked no further questions, trusting her fiancé's judgment and offering a smile to the newcomers, who all passed her and entered the house, graciously thanking her as they walked by.

Jacob stood behind Cambria as she passed Emily, the native woman stopping the blonde girl short. "Sweetheart, you look exhausted. Come inside and you can clean up." Jacob smirked at the interaction. Emily was so kind, and it made him feel good that she was accepting this girl, who had obviously been through hell, so openly.

"Thank you so much. I'm Cambria. If there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know." Jacob was marveled at how Cambria made absolute eye contact with Emily, not even giving her scarred face a second glance and gawking the way most people did.

"I'm Emily, Sam's fiancé, and I will absolutely hold you to that. But not tonight honey. You look beat. I'll be along to help you as soon as I get these monstrous stomachs fed." Cambria smiled at the lovely young woman before her, who she found extremely pretty even with the scars, before following everyone else inside.

Emily gave Jacob a knowing look and tapped the side of her nose, causing him to scowl. "Shut up Em," he muttered, passing by her in a rush and joining everyone at the table, piled with all sorts of yummy treats.

And to his dismay, there Leah Clearwater stood, looking less than pleased, Quil having a rushed conversation about what was happening with Embry.

"What the hell is going on Jacob? We don't _know_ these people. How could you and Sam just bring them here?" she hissed angrily after dragging him into the living room.

"Leah, we know what we're doing. And you will deal with it." That was an order and the glaring girl had no choice but to comply. She marched back into the kitchen and took a seat at the table, distracting herself with the food in front of her.

But she couldn't shake the feeling of someone's eyes on her as she stabbed at her large plate of food, mostly meats, taking out her anger of being so left out of the decision on the tender flesh. Her head shot up, eyes scanning the table for the source of the feeling before they landed and locked on the absolute darkest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen.

The feeling that washed over Leah's bitter being startled her so much, that she choked on the piece of steak she had been chewing, coughing and hacking violently a few times before getting it out and spitting it into her napkin. And she couldn't look back at those eyes quick enough.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked curiously, giving his sister a strange look.

"Fine," she answered, eyes unwilling to look anywhere but at the pair of deep sapphire ones that stared right back at her from across the table. It might have been hours she sat there staring, but she couldn't be sure of time until she finally looked away, deciding to investigate the other features this gorgeous being had to offer.

His jaw was cut sharp and chiseled, sprinkled with light hairs, and his nostrils flared, masculine protruding brows framing the eyes she wouldn't dare look into again just yet for fear of becoming lost. His hair fell to his chin, bleached by the sun, his skin receiving the opposite result from the center of the galaxy, a contrasting crisp gold in comparison to his light hair. He was just as fit as any of the other men she was constantly around, but for some reason he seemed all the more better.

And that it when it dawned on her.

Leah had imprinted.

"I need to go," she said, her words rushed before she ran from the table, out the door, and phased into her wolf form, not caring that her clothes were destroyed as she transformed, making a b-line towards the residence of the Cullens.

Meanwhile, Sloan sat in his chair stunned, unable to eat though his stomach demanded more nourishment by grumbling loudly. "Who was that?" he asked, his voice sounding as breathless as he felt to his own ears.

"Oh Leah? She's my sister. Don't mind her, she's a grouch," Seth answered, his mouth full of cornbread.

Sloan was sure of one thing and one thing only; he certainly didn't mind Leah at all. In fact, quite the contrary; she might have been the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life.

He didn't know what to do. He'd never felt like this before. It couldn't be normal, could it? He wanted to say something about it, but decided maybe this was a conversation better suited for his own pack. When he looked at her, it felt like lightning had struck his entire body.

He fought the desperate urge to go after her. There was no doubt in his mind that she had felt something too though with the way she was looking back at him.

Though it might kill him, he would just have to wait and see.


	5. Chapter IV

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Fuels my fire, y'know! This chapter is a lot more romance-y than I'm used to writing. Doing my best. I'm not a big fluff person. But here goes nothing. Please review!

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Lupus**

**Chapter IV**

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"So, Xander, he's your boyfriend?" Emily asked, brushing the wet, pale, and thankfully clean strands of Cambria's hair with a comb. After everyone had stuffed their faces, Jacob and Sam had left to go speak with the elders with Max, while one by one, each newcomer had been given the opportunity to clean themselves up. Showers were long needed now that the bellies were full of delectable food.

"He's… well… you must know it's kind of different with shifters. Very… territorial." Emily nodded, the freshly showered shifter seeing her reflected response in the mirror she sat facing. "Well, there's the whole marking thing; that's doubly important when you're dealing with a male and female who are both shifters. I haven't let him mark me. I just… I don't know. He's tried, but…"

"Things are different now?" she suggested, to which Cambria nodded. She was opening up to Emily very easily. It was an instant comfort to have another female around. Males made Cambria uneasy after everything that had happened anyway, and though she didn't want to show any disrespect to these two packs who were being so kind and generous, she couldn't help but feel nervous in a room full of unfamiliar men. Especially with the way Jacob Black continued to catch her gaze… but that nervousness was a little different.

"Did Sam… say anything about why we came here?" Cambria asked the kind woman who sat behind her.

"He didn't really have the opportunity. I just trusted his judgment. He wouldn't have allowed you on the reservation if he saw you as a threat to the tribe, nor would Jacob." Sam and Jacob both seemed like good Alphas, though the idea of two Alphas in the same territory was very foreign to Cambria and the rest of her pack. It was amazing that they coexisted at all, never mind so perfectly.

Cambria took a deep breath and picked at the fringe of the towel that was wrapped tightly around her nude body. "Well, our old Alpha… he did something horrible to me." She swallowed hard. "He raped me. More than once. And when the others found—" She cut off when Emily gasped, dropping the comb to the floor and tightly wrapping her arms around the she wolf.

Both females allowed water to leak from their eyes, Cambria remembering her pain all to clearly and Emily feeling overwhelming sympathy for her fellow woman. They both cried briefly, Emily whispering soothing words to Cambria, making her feel better than she had in a very long time. It was so nice to be around another girl again, someone who understood her. The boys tried, but it was never quite the same, even though Sloan was an exceptionally good listener.

As they calmed, Emily abandoned her beautifying and instead opted for sitting and facing Cambria, clutching both the blonde's hands in her own in obvious support and comfort. They stared into each others eyes as Cambria continued her story, making a true connection. "Max and Sloan were the first to break away. I followed them right after and Max took the role of our new Alpha by default. He's always had incredible leadership skills, so Sloan and I were very quick to follow. I just wanted to leave, to get away from Xavier. That was his name. He's Xander's brother." Cambria's voice trailed off at the thought of the man she was with now having the actual same blood running through his veins as her rapist.

She was only brought back to earth when Emily squeezed her hands reassuringly. Taking a deep sigh, she went on. "Xander and Logan weren't as easily convinced. A lot of them thought I was a liar, like Xander. He couldn't imagine his brother would do something like that, and frankly, I never thought so either."

Emily gaped. "He didn't believe you?" she whimpered, eyes welling slightly with tears again and Cambria had to look away because it was going to make her cry too if she kept looking.

"No. I can't really, completely blame him though. It's his brother; no one wants to imagine someone they love and care about would do something like that. And at that point in time, we weren't close; merely acquaintances because we were in the same pack. I mean, we had a very big pack, seventeen strong. And we didn't all live in such close quarters, not like your boys.

"Logan, he at first thought it was Xavier's right. As Alpha, he had his pick of females, and there was only another and I. But I wasn't interested and he couldn't take that as an answer. He used his power of command to call on me one night and it just happened. And at first I didn't tell anyone, the first few times in fact. Sloan finally got it out of me though. It was Max we went to for advice and he was so angry he phased right on the spot. It was almost a month later when he finally made himself an Alpha of his own pack. I still have no idea how he did it or what he said to Xavier. But when Sloan and I saw that opportunity to break away without becoming lone wolves, we jumped and it was only a little while later that Logan saw the wrong in the situation and followed.

"Xander was the hardest to convince. We were living on our own, away from our old pack. But Xavier found me. And when he did, it was really bad. I couldn't fight him off, he was too strong. And after he beat me and raped me, he just left me in the gutter to rot. And it was Xander who found me. Xavier had made the fatal mistake of not allowing me to clean myself up, as he always had done. And when Xander found me he could smell his brother all over me. I remember the look on his face to this day, how pale his skin got and how horrified his eyes were.

"It was hard for him to join us, and he almost got himself killed attacking his brother. But one day when we were phased, we could suddenly hear his thoughts. And that was when we knew he'd become one of us. I don't really think Xavier cared that we were gone, but the loss of his brother really pissed him off. And he sent most of the pack after us. We had no idea and when they attacked, we barely got away.

"I hard a hard time through the whole journey. We heal fast, but after being attacked by Xavier and the whole pack, I was not in good condition. Never mind my emotional state. I cried when we ran. When we'd stop and rest, which was rare, I would cry, and no one could comfort me. Not even Sloan, who is usually really good with that kind of stuff for a guy. I was closing myself off. My thoughts were blank, and this worried everyone.

"One night when everyone was supposed to be resting, I was in my human form, crying my eyes out. That was the first night I made a connection with Xander…"

_Cambria was so lost in self-pity that she hadn't even heard the newest member of her small pack approach. He sat beside her, a low growl escaping his throat before he spoke. "Stop crying." It was a direct command, but it didn't stop the sobs and tears. It only made them worse. "You won't talk to anyone else, so talk to me."_

_Nothing was said from either party for a while, and Xander sighed. "I'm so sorry he did that to you. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I could've stopped him…" She didn't want him to blame himself for something his disgusting pig of a brother had done. _

"_None of us could stop him Xander. He does whatever he wants." She sniffled, and wiped her eyes, choking down another sob. "And you shouldn't be apologizing for something he did."_

_Xander held his head in his hands for a while, not knowing what to say next. He knew it was out of his hands, what his brother did. But it didn't make him feel any less guilty. He had flat out called her a liar when he heard what she was accusing Xavier of. He had gone to the apartment she lived in with Sloan, cursed her up and down, and called her a liar, only to find out the horrifying truth first hand a little while later._

_When Cambria sobbed again, he was pulled out of his thoughts and looked over at her. She had always been strong, though she was a small wolf. She had always been strong and fast and smart. She was a valued member of the pack. But now she looked so incredibly weak it broke his heart._

_He reached out, wrapping her shuddering body in his muscled arms. He didn't know what else to do. How do you comfort someone in this situation? _

_A brief thought crossed his mind, one of making love to her right here under the stars the way it should've been, but it was stupid he decided immediately. It could go really well, sure, but chances are it would go really wrong and scare her. _

_But before he could turn the idea over anymore in his head, she pulled back a little, only to press her forehead against his. Her green eyes stared into his, her arms coming up to curl around his neck, fingers brushing through his lengthy brown hair. Though she still had tears streaming down her cheeks, she wore a small smile that confused and boggled him. _

"_Your presence here with us is more than I would ever have expected of you Xander. Your loyalty means a lot to me. I just need you to know that. You sacrificed your only family to support me." She didn't think he would ever realize what that meant to her. As much as she cared about Max, Logan and Sloan, Xandr's support was the most meaningful and shocking of all. He went against his own brother, his own flesh and blood, for her._

_That's when Xander realized maybe his idea hadn't been so stupid. Maybe she needed him to give her something that was robbed from her. He wasn't going to be overly aggressive about it though. He was going to test his waters very cautiously. Tilting his head, he placed a chaste kiss on the corner of her mouth. _

_The tension in her body made him think he'd made a mistake, but it was only brief, and then her arms wound a little tighter around his strong neck, urging him to kiss her again, a little longer this time. _

_Cambria inhaled him, moving herself forward from the ground and pressing into him. "Make me forget about him. Please," she whispered against his lips and Xander's muscles tensed. He still couldn't be sure this was entirely a good idea, but if he could make her feel better, even for just a little while…_

_She had been a virgin; that was for sure. He couldn't really leave her hanging here with her only sexual experiences being rape, especially when she was so upset. He would be her comfort if that's what she wanted…_

"That's story is kind of beautiful. In a very dark way," Emily sighed.

Cambria frowned, having once thought the same thing, but now, for some unknown reason, she wasn't sure that's how she felt anymore. There was nothing truly official about their relationship. They had barely talked before running off in their own little pack. And it had only been weeks since they'd first been together that night. She suddenly felt she didn't know him at all, and that perhaps that wasn't really what she wanted.

And there was that nagging memory of seeing Jacob Black for the first time. The rush of electricity she'd felt when she looked into his eyes had left her breathless for a minute, and that was something that had never happened before. "I care about him… but…"

"But there's Jacob." Cambria's body stiffened completely and she looked into Emily's eyes, shocked.

"How do you know that?" she asked quickly. She hadn't told anyone the unusual feelings she was having about him. Not a soul.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. "It's in your eyes when you look at him, when he speaks. I don't think anyone else has sensed it though. I'm a very observant woman."

Cambria nodded, silently cursing herself for being so obvious. If Xander had noticed, he would be livid. He was already the jealous type. But maybe this was a good thing. "What… what do you think? I don't know what I should do."

Emily pursed her lips and shook her head. "It isn't my place to say. It's something you'll have to discuss with Jake in the end. But, follow your heart. Don't think about it much. You'll do what's right for you in the end."


	6. Chapter V

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep doing it! The more reviews I get the faster I update! I'm really enjoying this story!

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Lupus**

**Chapter V**

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Leah Clearwater walked out of the shelter of the trees and up to the Cullen home, where Bella, Edward, Jasper and Alice were all waiting in the front yard. She'd easily found the sundress behind some bushes someone had put out for her (since they always knew she was coming), quickly phased and dressed. When she came into view, Edward's brow rose slightly before he placed a hand on Jasper's arm. "This is most certainly a girl thing," he assured his adoptive brother, and the two men went into the massive home, leaving both female vampires looking confused as Leah stood before them, panting and looking more panicked than she ever had.

Both Bella and Alice would've been worried something bad had happened if Edward hadn't been so casual. Whatever was going on, the mind reader obviously knew and didn't see it as a threat to their family or the wolves in La Push, brushing it off as girl troubles.

"I have a problem… and I don't know who else to talk to." Leah sounded more vulnerable than either girl had ever heard her sound before. Bella motioned for Leah to sit beside her on the steps while Alice sat on her other side.

Leah sat then released a very long sigh. "I think I imprinted." She knew that's exactly what had happened, even though she used the word 'think'. There was no other explanation for the way she was feeling. It was killing her to not be back at Sam and Emily's at this very moment, where she knew he was. He, who's name she didn't even know!

Alice lurched forward in the blink of an eye, crushing Leah in a hug that would've broken bones of someone who didn't have her superhuman durability. "Oh Leah! How wonderful for you!" she squealed enthusiastically. Leah cringed at the overwhelming scent the closeness provoked.

"Wow Leah, yeah! That's great!" Bella enthused, not invading the standoffish girl's personal space, but genuinely being happy for her since she was very aware of the bitterness that still lingered in Leah over Emily and Sam.

"So, so, what was it like? Who is it?" Alice pressured the she-wolf, backing off at least so Leah could breathe again. Her smile was huge and her amber eyes were bright. _'They're more excited about this than I am,' _Leah mused in her head,

Again, Leah sighed. This was the part that was still boggling her mind. "Let me start at the beginning…" She explained these newcomers as best she could, not knowing much about them herself. All she knew was Jacob and Sam both trusted them, so they must not be any kind of threat. Alice and Bella were glad to hear that the scents they caught in the woods no longer were a problem.

"So it was one of them?" Bella questioned. Leah had said there were five, shortly describing four of them, an Alpha, two other men, and a very scared female. Bella's logic told her the fifth was the one.

"I don't know his name. I didn't stick around long enough to find out. All I know is that I can't live without him," she mumbled, hearing the words from her own mouth for the first time. It shocked and terrified her. How was it possible to become so emotionally invested in someone she had literally set eyes on for less that five minutes? Now she knew how Sam felt…

Bella looked shocked, as did Alice. "Maybe you should go back Leah. Why are you hiding from him? Don't you think you deserve happiness?" Bella couldn't understand what exactly Leah was doing here when her soul mate was back there on the reservation.

"It's not that…" Leah reasoned. "It's just… how does it work with two wolves? What if… what if he doesn't imprint on me? Would he imprint on me? Does he already have an imprint?" Leah's head was swarming with possibilities. This had never happened before. None of the La Push pack members had imprinted on other wolves. Did it even work the same way?

Leah wanted to cry. She wouldn't, but she wanted to.

Meanwhile, back in La Push, Emily sat with a seaming pot of tea, pouring some for herself and the exhausted girl across from her. Both women sat at the table while they awaited the return of the three Alphas from their meeting with the elders. The remaining males were all being rowdy in the living room watching the baseball game, well, at least the local pack members. The newcomers were dead tired, and Logan was already asleep with his head tilted back in an armchair, snoring lightly.

Sloan had opted to sit with the two women, not in the mood at all to watch any kind of sporting event and roughhouse with these guys. Normally, he'd be all for it, but apart from being tired, he was dying to know where Leah had gone, and when she would be back. He was just trying to figure out how to bring it up without sounding like he was fishing for information.

The connection he had with his best friend must have been stronger than he thought, because his prayers were answered when Cambria spoke up after having a small sip of tea. "Who was that other girl? The one who ran out?" she asked Emily.

The native woman spoke up, looking a bit solemn. "That was Leah. She's part of Jacob's pack, his Beta. She's my cousin and Seth's sister. Forgive her for rushing out; she has a hard time accepting strangers. I'm sure she'll come around though. Especially with you here now. Leah's never known another female shifter. I'm sure she'll find it refreshing to have another girl on patrols."

Sloan hung on to Emily's every word, wanting to gather as much information on Leah as he could. No girl had ever taken his breath away like that before; that was for sure. She was gorgeous, possibly the most gorgeous girl in the world.

Suddenly, the door burst open and the three massive men entered the house, Emily standing abruptly from her chair. "What did they say Sam?" She had already connected with the girl sitting here with her and if the elders weren't going to listen to the Alphas, she would go down there and give them a piece of her mind.

Sam wrapped his arms around his fiancé, breathing a sigh into her hair. "It took some convincing. Max had to sign a treaty, aligning his pack with ours. But they can stay for as long as they need to."

Sloan let his head fall back and his eyes close, letting go of a big breath he wasn't even aware he'd been holding. Things were finally looking up. And now that they were certain they could stay, he would be able to interact with Leah.

Cambria had stood when Emily did, walking around the table to greet the three men and await the verdict. The absolute confirmation that they were going to have a place to stay, food to eat, and not one, but two packs to align themselves with was a godsend and she couldn't control the buckle in her knees or the tears that suddenly flowed. She was just so relieved. She'd been carrying the largest burden of them all, believing everything was her fault this entire time, and now they were going to be okay.

Her hands pressed into her eyes as she sobbed, trying to push back her tears, thinking it was silly that she was crying like this, especially over something bringing her happiness. The exhaustion had made her knees give out, but Jacob jumped forward, easily catching her before she hit the tiled floor and before he could say or do anything, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

He knew it was wrong; her boyfriend was right in the other room and this was extremely close contact, but he couldn't help but pull her just a little closer. Her body felt normal against his, just as hot. Her tears soaked his bare shoulder as she cried on it, whispering 'thank you's' against his skin.

The contact was electric. Every inch of his body tingled with the need to be close to her like this all the time. He literally felt like he could stand there, in this moment, forever if it were possible. This was definitely going to present a problem…

And maybe sooner than later.

"What the hell's going on?" Xander walked into the kitchen, immediately taking a defensive stance, catching sight of this strange Alpha with his arms coiled around the girl he was inclined to claim as his own. Though nothing had been officially set, this was unacceptable.

As if Jacob had burned her skin, Cambria pulled back, feeling a little empty at the loss of contact with the large Alpha. He was something; that much was certain.

"Xander…" Max warned, seeing the jealousy flash through his Beta's eyes.

Cambria moved forward, tears still streaming down her cheeks, then wrapped her arms around Xander's neck, embracing him. "The elders agreed to let us stay," she whimpered, still completely overjoyed. She couldn't help but notice that being in Xander's arms wasn't at all the same as being in Jacob's though. It wasn't… _right_.

Xander was glad to hear that, and for now would ignore the obvious attraction this Alpha had for his mate. He tightened his arms possessively around Cambria though, being sure to let Jacob know she was his with one solid look.

Jacob held the Beta's gaze, unwilling to back down. He was an Alpha, and it was in his nature to dominate. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled with the urge to fight this male for her, but he knew that was a completely stupid idea. _'I'm sure that'll impress her Jake,' _he snorted sarcastically in his mind. He hated these animalistic urges he often got.

For now, he'd calm down. But there was no doubt in his mind that he was very attracted to her, and if the opportunity arose and she seemed interested in him, he sure as hell wasn't going to turn her away. Time would obviously be something she needed though, after her ordeal.

The tension was thick, and Emily was about to break it when, ever so slowly, the front door opened again.

In walked Leah, cautiously, more cautiously then Jake had ever seen her enter a room full of people. He was shocked at what a scared little girl she looked like in an obviously borrowed sundress, her eyes big and worried. And he figured out where the sundress came from right away, able to smell the strong scent of vampire all over it.

"I assume you talked to the Cullens about our guests?" Sam asked, breaking the silence. Normally, he wouldn't feel obligated to inform the Cullens of business in La Push, his pack still being wary of them as opposed to Jacob's. But after all, it was the Cullens who had notified the packs about the intruding wolves in the first place. They had a right to know what had happened with that.

"Yeah," Leah said simply, her eyes discretely glancing over at Sloan every few seconds before darting down to the fidgeting hands she had clasped in front of her.

A whiff of vampire reached the newcomers' keen noses quickly, causing Cambria, Max and Xander to cringe, while Sloan instead became tense and began to tremble. The smell was coming directly from Leah and he approached her quickly. "Did you run into a leech?" he demanded rather than asked, an unusual action for the softer spoken of the Californian pack. He inhaled deeply to be sure, and that stinging in his sinuses left no doubt in his mind that there was most certainly vampire clouding the pleasantly sweet, woodsy scent of Leah he'd picked up earlier. "Are you hurt?"

Jacob, Emily and Sam all cringed, awaiting some feminist outburst from the she-wolf, but none came.

Leah did scowl however, but not because she was upset with Sloan for hovering; upset because she was allowing and even _enjoying_ this kind of attention from this boy. Being doted on definitely wasn't her forte since Sam had imprinted on her cousin. _'This should be unacceptable!'_ she shouted in her mind. By all rights, she should kick his ass for treating her like some damsel in distress!

But as she stood there looking into his deep sapphire eyes, she knew she could never be mad at him if she tried. This guy, whose name still escaped her, was easily the most gorgeous thing she'd ever laid eyes on.

"No, I'm fine," she answered, trying to add an unimpressed snort to keep up appearances, but it came out as more of a breathless sigh, watching all the strong emotions of adoration and the desire to protect run through his eyes. Now she absolutely understood what people meant when they said the eyes were the windows to the soul.

This is the exact moment that it became obvious to Leah that she hadn't been the only one to imprint.

The young man cleared his throat, as if coming to the sudden realization he'd never officially introduced himself to the angel standing before him, the one that triggered every nerve in his body and circled his every thought since he'd first laid eyes on her. "I'm Sloan," he presented, offering his hand to her, though he'd like to do much more.

"Leah," she replied, slipping her strong yet feminine hand into his. It was like a spark of electricity shocked both of their bodies, starting from their fingertips and jolting up their arm, making both hearts pump viciously behind their ribcages. They both gasped and pulled back, scared at that unfamiliar sensation.

It was then that Sam caught on. Leah hadn't looked at a man that way since they had been together, even then, her eyes had never been that intense. He nudged Jacob, who was still transfixed on the new girl, still wrapped in her lover's arms. Jacob was brought out of his stupor and looked to his fellow Alpha.

Sam nodded towards where Leah and Sloan were standing, gazing into each other's eyes, both a little slack jawed. Jake knew exactly what must've been going on here. "Leah, we need to speak in private," Jake announced, though he wasn't quite ready to leave Cambria's presence.

Nor was he exactly ready to ask Leah what was going on, though he already knew, simply because the same thing was happening to him. Jacob just wasn't quite prepared to deal with it.

There was always that blazing chance Xander was Cambria's imprint. Maybe they were together for that reason. That couldn't happen though, could it? Could someone imprint on someone who was already imprinted?

Wouldn't that just be the icing on Jake's cake? Bitter thoughts clouded his mind as he and Leah stepped outside, going far enough away from the house so that no one's sensitive hearing would catch their whispers.

"Jake… I um… I think—"

"You imprinted? Yeah, I noticed." He sighed slumping down on the ground and leaning his back against a tree. She followed his lead, sitting opposite him cross-legged. She began picking at the grass, unsure of what to say at this point. "What does it feel like?" he finally asked, after moments of listening to tree frogs croak and crickets chirp in the early night atmosphere.

Leah sighed and shook her head. "It's like they all say. Unexplainable… I didn't even know his name until just now! But I can't even imagine life without him already! Just _thinking_ about him not being around hurts me… almost physically. Like, my heart aches."

Leah was the most straightforward person Jake knew. If anyone could describe the feeling of imprinting accurately, it would be her, that's why he'd asked. Sure, he'd experienced a telepathic version of imprinting memories when he was phased with his imprinted pack members, but if what he'd felt when he first set eyes on Cambria was imprinting, the telepathic version didn't even come close to comparison.

"And what if… what happens if he doesn't imprint on you? What happens if he's already imprinted on someone else?" Leah frowned as Jake averted his gaze from her and towards the house, eyes focused on the back of Cambria's head, which he could make out through the lit up window of the dining area.

"I think he feels it too though. The same, I mean…" she trailed off, following Jake's eyes. "This isn't about me anymore, is it?"

Jake sighed, defeated and shook his head. "What if he's her imprint or something? What the hell am I supposed to do then?"


	7. Chapter VI

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga.

**A/N:** Thanks to those who reviewed. Virtual points to anyone who spots the reference in this chapter.

**

* * *

Lupus **

**Chapter VI**

* * *

"It's not much. But it could be a nice place with a little TLC," Jacob announced as he led the way into a small, and very humble, looking cottage. Clearly, it hadn't been lived in for a while. Everything was covered in dust and Jake couldn't get the electricity to work, but Leah took it upon herself to test the plumbing by turning on the kitchen sink. It ran brown for a minute before clearing up.

"I guess the well's not dry," she shrugged, turning the tap off and settled against the wall of the den. It wasn't a big place, clearly only meant for one or two people to live in, but it was more shelter than any of the Californians had had in a very long time, and to them it was a sight for sore, sore eyes.

"We might be able to turn the electricity on from the basement. There must be a circuit breaker down there somewhere…" Sloan suggested, pulling open a door the revealed an empty pantry, before trying another door that led to a rickety set of descending steps.

"I'll come!" Leah eagerly volunteered; a little too eagerly she realized. Sloan only grinned a straight toothed, dimpled smile at her before nodding his head towards the steps and heading down, Leah following behind, a certain hop in her step that hadn't been there in ages.

Emily and Seth came in with armfuls of cleaning tools, blankets, pillows and whatever else they had piled into the back of Sam's truck. The others were out patrolling, or at home with their families; only Jake, Emily, Leah and Seth had come along to welcome the newcomers into their temporary home.

"Okay, let's start by dusting. I hope these outlets work; I brought the vacuum," Emily began, struggling to carry everything she'd trudged into the house with.

"Emily, it's a little late for cleaning, don't you think? I'm sure we'll all survive in a little dust till the morning," Cambria argued, trying to help Emily balance out all the loads of stuff she was carrying without letting it all drop to the floor.

"Don't be foolish. I'm not going to have you all sleeping in filth. Not on my watch." Cambria pursed her lips, setting things down on the floor and willing herself not to cry again at the kindness that these strangers were showing them, especially Emily, who was going all out.

Jacob had to stop himself from moving towards the girl, sensing her feelings like he'd never been able to do with anyone else before. He knew she was near tears, overwhelmed with emotion, but he didn't move from his stationary spot beside a sheet-covered sofa.

There wasn't much doubt in his mind that he'd imprinted on this girl. The only thing stopping him from fully admitting it to everyone was denial. The only one who knew at this point was Leah, at least until one of them phased for sure. He'd confessed he was feeling things for the stranger he'd never felt before, feelings that matched hers for Sloan. But Leah was surprisingly much more open to the idea of imprinting on someone than Jacob was. Though she wasn't rushing to tell Sloan, she'd accepted it herself, and been in a lighter mood ever since she'd come back from the Cullen's earlier.

Jake however had to deal with that fact that this girl was with someone. And she was damaged goods on top of that. How he was going to go about this imprint thing, he had no idea. For now, he would bide his time and keep his distance. Maybe thee magnetic pull tempting him to move closer to Cambria would go away?

He sighed. Chances of that were slim to nil. Once you imprinted, there was no turning back as far as he could tell.

He'd already dealt with the sudden nothingness he felt when he thought about Bella Swan. In fact, he hardly thought about her at all. Granted, he still loved her as his best friend, but it definitely wasn't the same way he'd once felt about her, or thought he had. The way he wanted Bella at one point couldn't even hold a candle to how bad he wanted the she-wolf in front of him.

Every time she leaned forward to grab some sort of cleaning tool and he got a glimpse of her cleavage his groin pulsed. The way her hair fell into her sultry eyes made a tingle go through his entire body. And those long, toned legs were almost impossible to ignore every time they crossed his line of vision. He'd never felt more like a caged animal in his life.

And these were all very bad things.

Not that that's all he wanted from her, but the physical need was an urge that was a little harder to ignore than all the other emotions he felt for this stranger. And there was absolutely no way this girl could be interested in sex after being raped, never mind her already being with someone.

And speaking of that someone, Jake was sure Xander had noticed every longing glance he was sending Cambria's way; the glares he was receiving were proof enough of that. But if he only understood that he couldn't help himself. If he hadn't imprinted on her, sure he'd still think she was hot, but he'd at least be able to restrain himself from practically drooling. Wolves were overly possessive. This was going to get ugly, and soon. Which just meant Jacob was inevitably going to have to bring this up to her much earlier than he'd like.

Nothing about this was going to be easy at all.

And he was still mentally weighing his options, or what options he thought he had. He could embrace the imprint, tell her, uproot her whole life, make her leave her boyfriend, who she may or may not be very attached to, and make her leave her pack, because as Alpha he certainly had no intentions of leaving his. Or he could fight the imprint. He could ignore it and pretend he felt nothing for her. It might go away; it's not as if anyone ever tried to push their imprint back.

But the second option was just not as appealing as the first. He wanted her in the _worst_ way, and ignoring that feeling just didn't seem like it was going to happen.

Jacob was really getting tired of thinking about this in general. It was giving him a headache.

And Cambria prancing around with Emily, cleaning things in those tiny little shorts was giving him a crotch ache.

"I'm just gonna go for a quick run, cool?" He didn't need to ask, he was Alpha, but suddenly this house was too hot, and his clothes were too tight. He needed to cool off, badly. And he needed to get a few feet away from her, even if it was the slightest bit painful. "Be back in a few."

Emily sent Cambria a smart look, which she tried to ignore, but the native woman had caught her watching Jacob leave the house and Xander felt secure enough to go off and check out the other rooms with Max and Logan now that Jacob was gone. And Seth was getting more things form the truck outside. So they were left alone.

"You know, you should—" Emily's whisper was cut short by Leah calling from the basement.

"Try the lights now Em!" Emily blew air between her lips before going over to the kitchen switch and flicking it on and off, the light in the middle of the ceiling flashing.

"Den's good too," Seth added, doing the same while balancing Emily's vacuum, a broom and a mop all in his other hand.

"It's working Leah!" Emily yelled down to her before returning to where Cambria was dusting. "Don't worry much about all this stuff," Emily assured Cambria as she wiped off the dusty stove. "I cook for the packs. There's plenty to go around." Then she got a wicked smile on her face; very unfitting for the woman with the kindest eyes Cambria had ever seen. "That is if Jacob doesn't come back here dragging a dead stag to present to you."

Cambria dropped her duster in shock and stared at Emily wide eyed who giggled, covering her mouth. "He wouldn't really do that…"

"Of course not. I'm just teasing." Cambria felt stupid for not realizing that, but bringing back a hunt would be a very wolf-like mating ritual, and though she couldn't confirm it, Cambria couldn't help but feel Jacob had some kind of attraction for her. It couldn't just be her, could it?

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore him. And now that he was gone, she still couldn't get him off her mind. He was just as good-looking as Xander. Just as muscled and toned. Just as tall, maybe a little taller, but still, all the males around her were huge. But for some reason, some reason she couldn't understand or control, there was something about Jacob Black that she just couldn't keep her mind off. And it made her feel guilty.

Cambria felt guilty because she had someone who cared for her, someone who wanted to protect and love her, and all she was thinking about was this other man; a man she didn't even know!

And she also feared Emily was all too aware of it. And if she could tell, who's to say no one else could? Her biggest worry being Xander.

Speaking of, he emerged from a door down the short hallway, Max and Logan following behind him, and walked up to Cambria. "There's only one bedroom. And an office or something; it's empty, but it looks too small to have been a bedroom. Maybe for a little kid or something. We got rid of some spiders for you in the bathroom," he taunted, making Cambria roll her eyes. "We're gonna go outside and make sure the foundation and stuff all looks safe." His hazel eyes looked into her green ones again, seriousness overtaking them. "Are you going to be okay?"

Cambria was a little surprised at his question, but answered no less, feeling like his eyes were searching for something within hers. "Of course. Go ahead." He held her eyes a moment longer before giving her a single nod and then walking off outside after Max and Logan.

"Where the heck is Jake?" Seth questioned, hands deep in the pockets of his shorts, strolling around the kitchen.

"Went for a quick run. You didn't see him leave?" Emily questioned, knowing he'd been outside.

"Nah, must've slipped by me when I was in the truck." Seth ran a hand through his cropped, black hair. "He's been acting kind of weird, don't you think?"

"Never mind that Seth. Here, put this on," Emily smirked, holding out a piece of cloth trimmed in red frills. It was a very over the top apron and once Seth realized this, he looked from the apron, to the cleaning supplies, back to the apron, then turned to the door.

"Hey wait up!" Seth called after the males, doing a double take at all the cleaning equipment and deciding he'd rather go with the guys, understandably. He dashed out the front door after them without another word.

Emily just chuckled. "Seth likes to be one of the guys. He's only fifteen. Practically worships Jacob." Then another sly smile emerged. "But that's the trend lately I guess."

Cambria's jaw slacked and her face heated up. She couldn't even look Emily in the eye as she laughed. "Don't worry, I won't tell him," she assured.

Just in time, before Emily could delve deeper into the subject, Sloan and Leah reemerged from the basement, both with smiles on their faces, laughing and talking lightly about something. This open interaction was a little shocking to Cambria, on Sloan's part, and from what she understood, Leah's as well. Emily looked a little perplexed as her cousin entered the kitchen as well.

Sloan was never one for relationships or dating in general. He'd always kind of kept to himself for the most part. Romance had never seemed to interest him much, and Cambria had known him for most of her life. In fact, she was probably the closest person who'd ever been in his life. He was an orphan, so he didn't have any legitimate family besides the pack. To see him interacting so openly and light-heartedly with someone, especially a girl he could have potential interest in was very strange. And the quirked eyebrows and poorly restrained smirk Cambria shot at him when he looked her way showed her surprise, and also her approval.

"Stop giving each other lovey eyes and grab a mop," Emily chuckled, causing Leah to groan and Sloan to look away, slightly embarrassed at being called out on his flirting.

Only a few minutes in to cleaning, Jacob reappeared at the doorway, brushing some leaves from his hair and looking rejuvenated. Cambria couldn't help herself, seeing how his muscles bulged from the athletic endeavor he'd just gone on, and again she found herself staring.

"So, I meant to ask, but it didn't come up. What's with the vampire smell? It's everywhere in the woods… then it just stops." Those were Sloan's words as Xander walked back into the room, immediately taking his place next to Cambria, throwing his arm over her and giving Jacob a pointed look, Max, Logan and Seth sauntering in moments later.

After having a momentary stare off with Xander, Jacob turned his attention to Sloan. "It's the Cullens. They're a family of vampires that live outside of Forks. We have a treaty with them. It was established long ago. They're good people though. They only drink animal blood; vegetarians sort of. As protectors of the tribe, the treaty has to stand, but I'm very close with them."

All the newcomers looked astounded. Who'd ever heard of vegetarian vampires? "You mean to tell me you guys are… _aligned_ with bloodsuckers?" Logan snorted, and Jacob nodded. "Shit, now I've seen everything."

"You _trust_ vampires?" Cambria asked surprised. It was pretty unheard of. They were, after all, mortal enemies of wolves.

"Believe me, they're the only ones," Leah assured.

"Still… it's crazy. We're from Santa Carla… murder capital of the world. Guess why?" Max informed, crossing his arms over his chest in a casual manner and leaning into the wall.

"Fuckin' leeches everywhere," Logan finished with a growl. "Ya'll know how it is though. Love the hunt, right?" A devious smirk appeared on his full lips. Hunting vampires was Logan's favorite pastime.

Jacob gave a half smile and nodded, having to agree that he did enjoy ripping a disgusting leech limb from limb when he got the opportunity. He couldn't help but wonder what it must be like to live in a place where that might be a day to day event like Santa Carla, even if it was a little sadistic.

"You boys know this house isn't gonna clean itself, right? And if you want a nice breakfast tomorrow morning, you better get scrubbing so I can go home and sleep." Jacob and Seth groaned, the stray pack helping without complaints.


	8. Chapter VII

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

**A/N:** So no one got the reference. That's okay. Santa Carla is a fictional place in California from the movie The Lost Boys. Thanks to those who reviewed!

**

* * *

Lupus**

**Chapter VII**

* * *

Jacob lay awake in his bed, long past midnight, staring at his ceiling. He breathed an irritated sigh at his insomnia, knowing at this point there was only one thing that could soothe his sleeplessness. And he didn't want to admit it.

But there was only so much a guy could take.

Throwing his sheet from his bare lower half, Jake opened the screen of his window, phasing as he crawled out of the frame, all four paws thudding onto the dried grass, making the dormant vegetation crunch.

Sure, he could have used the front door easily enough; it's not as if Billy was unaware of the fact Jake sometimes went for runs in the middle of the night even when he wasn't on patrol. But for some reason Jacob felt he needed to be stealthy this time.

Because he was going out for the sole reason of checking on Cambria, his spoken for imprint, and it wasn't exactly something he was going to advertise if he could help it, especially without having said anything to her about it at all yet.

'_Hey Jake!'_ Seth's eager voice rang through Jake's mind immediately, and Jacob cursed when Seth's new thoughts rang out in his mind. Damn it, why couldn't he just stop thinking about her for ten seconds? _'Oh wow… wow Jake. What are you gonna do man? She's taken…'_

'_I know Seth. Thanks for reminding me asshole,' _Jacob growled.

'_What _are_ you gonna do?'_ That was Embry entering the telepathic conversation.

'_I don't know. For now, I'm just checking on her real quick,'_ Jacob sighed, feeling a little defeated. There was no way Xander was just going to step aside and let Jake have her. There was no way this wouldn't get messy. Which is why fighting the imprint was probably the best option at this point. But he just needed to know she was okay for now.

'_Man, maybe you shouldn't go over there. It might not be a good idea. What if they're… you know?'_ Jake growled at Seth's unappealing suggestion, then let out and ear splitting howl.

'_If he's touching her, I'll rip his throat out,'_ Jake answered Seth.

'_I'm not far. I'll go ahead and take a look,'_ Embry volunteered. Despite Seth's unlikely assumption of what Xander and Cambria might be doing at two in the morning and the fact that if Jake were to see that, he might go wild, Jacob continued on at an even faster pace, needing reassurance that Cambria indeed was not getting fucked by that guy, no matter who he was to her.

'_Jeeze Jake, calm down. What if they don't even know what imprinting is or something? Did you even consider that?'_ This logic coming from Seth was a little shocking for Jake. He in fact hadn't once considered that. Maybe not every shape shifter in the world was as well informed as the two packs in La Push. Hell, they hadn't even really been certain there were other shape shifters around until obvious recent events.

'_Why don't you just grow a pair and tell her?'_ Leah's voice suddenly broke in, tone condescending.

'_Excuse me Leah? Should you really be talking?' _Jake mustered up the memories of their conversation earlier, revealing it to the rest of the phased pack.

'_You imprinted?'_ Seth exclaimed at his sister.

'_Holy shit! Hell has frozen over!'_ Embry said, awed.

Ignoring the surprise her brother and Embry were experiencing, Leah spoke to Jake. _'Well _I_ don't have to worry about someone else's grubby paws all over my imprint. I can take my sweet time.'_

Jake growled in reply, the idea of someone touching, or even looking at Cambria in a slightly interested way making his blood boil, no matter how hard he tried to fight the feeling of rage welling up inside him. It's true, Xander had been there first, and normally, Jake wouldn't go after a taken women, previous endeavor excluded, but it didn't matter. It couldn't be helped. Nothing was stronger than an imprint, _nothing_.

'_Coast's clear,'_ Embry assured, just as Jake spotted the tree line into the overgrown yard of the now inhabited cottage. _'They're all out cold.'_

Jacob mustered up all the restraint he had, preparing to hold himself back in case he saw something he didn't want to see, despite Embry's assurance that everything was good. But to Jake's relief, when peering over the sill of the window that saw into the only bedroom, Cambria and Xander weren't even facing the same direction. He was towards the wall, back to her while she faced the window Jake was looking through. A bubble of jealousy rose within him at the sight of them in bed together, but it could be worse, he had to remind himself.

Cambria appeared to be in a dead sleep and the picture of innocence.

'_Fucking gorgeous Jake. Nice one man,' _Embry commended, seeing what Jake was seeing even though he'd run off to continue patrolling as soon as Jake entered the vicinity.

Jake could only agree with his friend. He was extremely captivated by Cambria and he'd definitely never felt this way before; not even about Bella Swan. And Jake didn't think it was possible that he would ever feel for anyone the same way he'd felt for Bella, never mind more so.

And Cambria _was_ fucking gorgeous. Her stark blonde hair fell in windblown tendrils giving her a wild, beachy appearance, along with her bronze skin. Her cheeks were sun kissed and her lashes were long and full. Her lips were plump and a healthy color, parted slightly in her slumber. Her body was glorious, even underneath the thin, sage sheet Emily had brought over.

And the deep forest green of her eyes made his heart thud, their come hither expression ever present, maybe only to him though.

'_Uh, Jake? I think she's awake and you should probably leave instead of looking like a creeper,' _Seth alerted him. Jake hadn't even realized the sudden musings regarding her eyes had only been triggered because Cambria now lay looking wide-eyed in Jacob's direction.

Quickly, yet carefully, she rose from the bed, tiptoeing to the open window before Jake could tear his eyes away from her.

"Don't leave, please." How could he deny her whispered request? "Phase quickly and I'll be right outside. I need to talk to you." Jacob was somewhat stunned, but there was no way he wasn't going to stick around and find out what she needed to talk to him about. If it was the imprinting thing, he wasn't sure what the hell he was going to do.

In just seconds, Jake was phased into his human form and had pulled his shorts on just as Cambria's bare feet padded over the crisp grass before him.

She wore a little white nightgown Emily had leant her, and the sight of her almost bare upper thighs and scarcely clad breasts made Jake's breath hitch in his throat and his nether regions give an uncontrollable twitch.

Cambria herself had to bite her lower lip as she approached the young native. In the fair moonlight, his russet skin shone, tight over his taut muscles. His abdomen was chiseled and his dark eyes were intense as they focused on her approach, peering through loose strands of sleek, dark hair. Cambria wanted badly to touch him, to trace the lines of the pack tattoo inked over his bulging bicep with her slim fingers.

Though she had been exhausted, the unusual pull at her heart and the lingering thought of Jacob had left her pretty restless. And it was just as she'd dozed off when she was overwhelmed with the scent of him, eyes forcing open despite her fatigue, focusing on his massive wolf form situated outside the only bedroom, which she and Xander were sharing.

Cambria met his eyes as she spoke. "What is this?" Her voice was nearly silent, very hushed, the new feelings overbearing.

Jacob knew exactly what she was talking about of course, but played dumb. This girl had a life, maybe not the best one, but he felt guilty, knowing if they gave into this, she'd be pried away from it and she'd already withstood enough pain; he didn't want to cause her more. "What?"

She inhaled, eyelids heavy as she reached out, not being able to find words to explain what she felt for him. One small hand held his strong wrist, bringing his hand up to press to her chest, while her palm pressed into his, their thundering hearts beating simultaneously.

Cambria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The close physical contact was so incredibly soothing; it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. "Can't you feel that?" How could he not?

And oh, Jake felt it. He felt the surge of electricity where her palm pressed into his pectoral, soft and delicate in his eyes. God, would he give anything to just throw her down on the ground and take her right here. But he knew he couldn't do that. Instead, he had to just envision her with a big, 'approach with caution' sticker on her forehead.

Licking his lips, Jacob removed her hand from his skin, though it pained him, and looked down at it resting in his much larger one. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes as he said this, so he just focused on her long, thin fingers encased in his own. "Go back inside and go to sleep Cambria. I was just checking on you guys. I think you're just really, really exhausted."

Jack released her hand then, the loss of this physical contact leaving him an empty feeling. And he should've just turned away and gone back into the woods. But he made the fatal mistake of looking up at her face, and he saw the confusion and uncontrollable pain in those green irises.

That was when it struck him. Obviously, she came out here because she felt something uncontrollable that mirrored what he did. And Jake had spent so much time worrying about what would happen if she rejected him, that he didn't even realize he'd just done the same to her.

He'd just rejected her.

Quickly, he tried to fix the situation. He couldn't leave her feeling like that. An imprint's rejection could be fatal. "It's just… not the right time for this. You should settle in. And then we'll talk, believe me, we'll talk." He couldn't resist reaching out to stroke her hair. "Just go back to sleep now."

The last thing he wanted to do was cause her pain, and it was completely unintentional, but it really just wasn't the best time to be addressing a situation like this right now. She wasn't emotionally stable yet; obviously by the amount she'd cried already.

And he was sure there would be a lot going through her mind. If they were going to do this, she had to figure out how to break the news to her boyfriend. And her pack. There was no long distance relationship when dealing with imprints.

Then of course there was the lingering thought in the back of his mind thanks to Seth that maybe she doesn't even know what imprinting is. He would tell her of course, but all in due time. For now, he would force himself to be content with just watching and protecting her from a distance.

He would give it just a little time; it was the least he could do.

Cambria sighed, defeated, and hung her head, pushing some stray hair behind her ears. She gave a bitter laugh, before her green orbs flickered up to see the unreadable expression on Jacob's face. "All I wanted to do since we left Santa Carla was to sleep in a warm bed. Now I have one and all I can do is lay there awake and think about…" She trailed off, feeling stupid when Jacob didn't let the cold, emotionless look on his face falter. She was fighting a losing battle it seemed. The instant and unignorable attraction she had to him was almost unbearable though. But Jacob obviously didn't understand that.

It was then Jake let his guard down slightly, reaching out to touch her again, tilting her chin up. He was sure she'd probably spent enough time hanging her head after what she'd been through; he certainly didn't want to be the cause of more of this action. "I promise, you and I can have a discussion soon; _very_ soon. Now's just not the time. Do you understand?" he questioned, pleading with his dark eyes, his thumb stroking her jaw, causing her eyes to close as she leaned into his touch more, an audible sigh Jake couldn't deny sounded completely content passing through her tempting lips.

Cambria composed herself when Jake painfully dropped his hand away, the contact causing them both some relief, but having to come to an end before he lost the control he was straining to contain.

"No, I don't understand. I don't understand any of this. But I don't know why I should expect you to either." She sighed again, less content this time and more defeated. "Good night Jake."

Jacob didn't reply as she walked back towards the front door, turning to get one last look at him for the night before disappearing inside, as quiet as a mouse.

Jake shook his head before anger began boiling inside him as he assessed the situation. The rage and frustration this situation was causing him made him phase, disregarding the clothes he'd been wearing, now lying torn to shred in the grass. A pained howl ripped through the forest as he sped past trees, wondering why he couldn't catch a break.

'Why can't this just be easy?' he thought bitterly. Leah had all the time in the world to develop a normal relationship with Sloan. He would think that maybe it was karma points coming back her way; the way she allowed Sam and Emily to live their lives being replayed to her by getting a nice, easy, unattached imprint. Her suffering was finally being compensated for.

But Jake had suffered too.

Which brought him to thoughts of Bella. Though he didn't feel that same, thundering in his heart that he used to when she crossed his mind, he knew if anyone could help him relieve his tension and maybe figure this whole situation out, it would be his best friend.

Jake turned around, heading towards the Cullen's home where he would hopefully be able to come to some final decisions.


	9. Chapter VIII

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Twilight saga

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**Lupus**

**Chapter VIII**

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Near silence filled the Cullen household, the only sounds being that of the smooth, classical music playing over the stereo and the occasional flipping of a worn book page. Bella sat reading a weathered copy of _Pride__and__Prejudice_ while Edward leaned back into the couch, eyes following her feminine fingers as they stroked the tattered and yellow paper. Alice and Esme had taken Nessie outside to watch a meteor shower while the other Cullens had gone on a hunt, so Bella and Edward were left to their own devices.

Bella sensed Edward's sudden tension even before he sat straighter, eyes focusing out the large window and brows rising slightly. "What is it?" she questioned, marking her place and putting the novel on the coffee table.

"It's Jacob. He's on his way here. I can hear his thoughts loud and clear." Edward listened closely before looking to Bella, amber eyes lit up with knowledge and possible excitement. "He needs to talk to you. Jacob's imprinted as well."

Immediately, Bella shot up out of her seat and was at the front door in an instant, waiting for the wolf she could now smell, to break through the tree line. She could hear him putting his shorts on before he came into sight, and immediately Bella ran to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Congratulations Jake!" she breathed, and Jacob let out a bitter laugh before she pulled back.

"Figured you'd already know," he snorted, glancing over her shoulder to where Edward stood, now by the door, a knowing smirk on his face. "Leech," he affectionately greeted, Edward's smile unable to be contained as he responded with a nod.

"You have to come in Jake! Tell me all about it!" Bella demanded, grabbing his wrist and leading him into the living area. Jake cringed at the overpowering stench, opening his mouth slightly to breathe. He took a seat on the plush couch, Bella sitting at the other end while Edward perched on the arm beside her. "So, first Leah, and now you? God, I'm so happy for you guys. Really!"

"It's not as great as you're making it seem, trust me." Jacob rubbed the back of his neck, wondering where exactly to start, and also what they already knew, since Edward could read his thoughts and Leah had already been here.

Collecting his thoughts was difficult though, as they all revolved around Cambria at the moment weaving further away from the actual subject of conversation and more into mindless fantasies about what she was doing at that very moment.

Edward chuckled and shook his head. "You apparently have a thing for taken women."

Though much of their relationship was patched up now, Jake still sent Edward a glare in retaliation to his comment, which Bella mimicked before turning back to her friend. "She's with someone?" Her voice held anguish for him; she hated that she had been the cause of so much pain for him in the past, and now when he finally has a chance at happiness…

Nothing just ever seemed to go right for Jacob, and it killed her.

Jake shook his head. "It's not as bad as it sounds… I don't think, anyway. She's a member of that pack. They're staying in a foreclosed place right outside the rez. She's with someone but there's no doubt in my mind she imprinted on me too. I just saw her."

"I think Seth was right. It doesn't seem to me that she knows about imprinting at all," Edward said, commenting on Jacob's thoughts before he could even say them out loud. It irritated him to no end, but Jacob had other things on his mind, much more important thing, to bother picking a fight over it.

"I don't think she does either. She was confused. But I couldn't bring myself to tell her." The reasons the pack had fled from their home ran through his mind, causing Edward to look away, sympathy pouring through him.

"What? What's wrong?" Bella was sitting there, left in the dark.

Jacob began to shake as the thoughts continued in his mind, certainly unable to speak them as his self control was hanging by a mere thread at this point anyway.

Edward cleared his throat before he spoke softly. "Jacob's imprint and Rosalie have something in common it seems." It took Bella a short minute to figure out what her husband meant before she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

"Apparently their old Alpha did it, and that's why they're here. They didn't know if they were being followed or not, so they ran to Florida and then up here." Jake's explanation was said through clenched teeth as he tried to get rid of the idea of Cambria being raped before the wolf exploded out of him.

"You couldn't have done anything Jake. You didn't even know she existed," Edward commented, listening in on Jacob's guilt stricken ideas.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't make me want to rip the guy to shreds any less." Jacob swore mentally that he would destroy their old Alpha if he ever got the opportunity. And he would enjoy every gruesome second of it. Shaking his head, Jacob snapped back to reality. "I want to give her the time I think she needs before I really tell her. I don't want her to feel pressured; her life's complicated enough."

"That might be best," Bella agreed, lightly nodding her head. Even though it had been his idea, Jake kind of wished Bella told him to do something different, for instance, tell Cambria they were soul mates, then take her then and there. Jake growled as he saw Edward's eyebrows raise in amusement, obviously listening in. "Stop it," he snarled at his newly formed friend.

Edward just shook his head and turned his eyes southward. "I wish I could sometimes Jacob, I really, really do."

Standing, Jake stretched his arms up above his head, the stress that was consuming his mind taking a toll on his body. "I have to get back… and… you know."

"Jake, do me a favor and don't sleep outside her window all night," Bella suggested, fully aware of how creepy that could come off as.

"Sure, sure," Jacob responded, heading out the door, a clear sign he would not comply with Bella's request. She sighed and shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Edward placed a smooth hand on her shoulder. "You know he's going to do it anyway."

Bella sighed. "I know."

"Well you said all _night_. Technically, it's morning."

And Jacob did just that, making himself comfortable in a mossy patch through the early morning, only until he was approached by Sam in wolf form. When Jake saw the older Alpha, he sighed in annoyance.

Sam was no idiot, and Jacob had been caught red-handed, sitting here at his self-assigned post. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't bring himself to go back home and go to bed. He needed to watch over her, and Sam probably wasn't going to buy any half-assed excuses, so Jacob didn't see any point in trying to shield his thoughts from him, since they, both being Alphas, could still communicate. _'__I__ can__'__t__ help __it.__'_

'_I__ understand__ you__ can__'__t __help __it, __but __you __need __to __be __a __little __more __inconspicuous __if __you__'__re __going __to__ stalk __her,__'_ Sam stated firmly.

_'__She __has__ a __mate,__ and __I __don__'__t __need__ a __fight__ breaking __out__ between __the __two__ of__ you.__'_

'_That__'__s __a __joke,__'_ Jake grunted. _'__And__ I __really __don__'__t__ need__ a__ lecture.__I__ can__'__t __ignore __it __Sam,__and __you__ know__ it.__'_

'_I__ know__ it__ better __than__ anyone,__' _Sam growled. _'__But __you __need __to __go __home __now. __And __you __need __to __approach__ this __with __much __more __caution. __She __is __in __the__ same __position__ I __was __in, __and __you __know__ how __it __tore__ me__ up __inside.__' _

Sam sighed, noticing Jake was completely distracted. Cambria was awake, and standing at the window they were facing, looking out at the two of them. Her teeth pressed into her lower lip as her eyes stayed glued on Jacob's large, russet wolf form.

Sam growled, then let out a loud bark, grabbing Jake's attention. He looked at Sam, thinking bitter things, but he also knew Sam was right. This should be a slower process. It would make everything easier on her, and that's all Jake really wanted. So he looked back to her at the window once more before he disappeared into the woods, on his way home to get in a quick nap.


End file.
